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Great white sharks are NOT kings of the ocean as study finds they flee when killer whales are nearby
UK Daily Mail ^ | April 17, 2019 | Ian Randall

Posted on 04/17/2019 12:36:30 PM PDT by C19fan

When faced with a killer whale, it seems even Jaws might take pause for thought — as new research reveals great white sharks beat a hasty retreat if orcas are around.

What happens when top-level predators meet on land is well documented, but little is known about similar interactions in our oceans.

To find out, a US research team led from the Monterey Bay Aquarium searched for encounters between great whites — among the most ferocious of all sharks — and orcas (killer whales), in electronic tagging and observational data.

In every case where the two predators came into contact, the sharks actually turned tail and fled from the killer whales, researchers found.

Sporadic reports of orcas attacking great whites have been recorded, but this is the first evidence of sharks actively avoiding the whales.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: killerwhales; orca; orcas; predators; sea
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To: DungeonMaster

“Never mind the fact that there is no evidence of any animal ever changing kinds.”

The Hawaiian Nene (bird) is clearly related to the Canada Goose but there’s been enough divergence that they are distinctly different species.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nene_(bird)


41 posted on 04/17/2019 1:44:13 PM PDT by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism.)
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To: C19fan

“When faced with a killer whale, it seems even Jaws might take pause for thought”

The author must have missed Jaws II when the killer whale Jaws ate washed up on the beach.


42 posted on 04/17/2019 1:46:28 PM PDT by ScottfromNJ
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To: C19fan

Not a big shock. Killers are bigger as it is.


43 posted on 04/17/2019 1:53:58 PM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: C19fan

The Coward of the County ran away from trouble too.
But then one day the Gatlin brothers came calling on Becky and there were three of them.

Just saying.


44 posted on 04/17/2019 2:06:02 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: C19fan

Yup.


45 posted on 04/17/2019 3:18:56 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Boomer

I enjoyed watching him die though. Not a big fan of his jedi character.


46 posted on 04/17/2019 3:21:12 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: bagster

I was wondering how long it would take for that to post! Good Job!


47 posted on 04/17/2019 4:54:02 PM PDT by 1FreeAmerican
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To: C19fan

No contest, and no surprise.

Even packs of dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) - think Flipper - pose a serious threat to sharks:

Their laminar flow gives them high speed, and their bony skulls make them battering rams. They ram sharks and kill them with organ damage and internal hemorrhaging.

An aquarium I know once reputedly, and foolishly, had a large shark in the same great tank as some other fishes and some bottlenose dolphins. The dolphins decided they did not like the arrangement, took matters into their own fins, and efficiently dispatched the shark.


48 posted on 04/17/2019 5:13:29 PM PDT by YogicCowboy ("I am not entirely on anyone's side, because no one is entirely on mine." - J. R. R. Tolkien)
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To: C19fan

Killer whales off SoCal have learned the trick of flipping great whites upside-down, which puts them to sleep, same as with alligators, then they can take their time eating them. It’s a trick the whales have been observed passing down to their offspring, like a mother cat batting around a mouse until it’s punch-drunk, then letting it go so its kittens can finish it off.


49 posted on 04/17/2019 8:31:27 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: LukeL
If they don't breathe (especially nitrogen)while under pressure, bends doesn't materialize.

IIRC, they expire prior to deep dives, so less open cavity in the body to crush under depth. They dont breathe until they break the surface, and can oxygenate, then not exchange gas for a long time, (while under water)

50 posted on 04/17/2019 8:51:57 PM PDT by going hot (happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: Unassuaged

not to new students...lol... killer whales have always dominated sharks just by their size alone...doesn’t mean you can’t get a grant though!


51 posted on 04/17/2019 11:06:24 PM PDT by willyd (I for one welcome our NSA overlords)
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To: zeestephen

I cant believe I survived all those Hippo attacks when I was on the Jungle Cruise Ride at Disneyland.


52 posted on 04/17/2019 11:18:39 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (THEY LIVE, and we're the only ones wearing the Sunglasses.)
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To: Flick Lives

I’ve seen some of those two. I think they are playing with them like a cat does sometimes. Amazing to watch. Although I did start to feel sorry for the seal!

I don’t think Orcas kill too many humans. Although that is probably because they are swimming off the coast of Alaska and Canada, and not off California as much.


53 posted on 04/17/2019 11:29:16 PM PDT by 21twelve (!)
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To: CommerceComet

“...but I have to think that a kayak from the underside must resemble a seal...”

Even more so if you make your kayak out of seal skin - like the Inuit do!

I imagine the smell is still there too. We had a dog that never messed with the kid’s toys or stuffed animals - but would play and chew on his own stuffed animals. Until one day it chewed up one of the kid’s animal toys. Turns out the toy was made out of cow hide - dyed to look like a Zebra. Couldn’t blame the dog really.


54 posted on 04/17/2019 11:35:40 PM PDT by 21twelve (!)
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To: LukeL
No mammal could live in the water if it needed to resurface every 30-60 seconds. Also the animal would need to be able to cope with the rapid pressure changes and need a mechanism to prevent the bends from occurring.
That's why they hold their breath for longer. Or just float near the surface. And lots of mammals do fine with pressure changes - whales, sea lions, otters, dolphins, manatees, platypi, etc.
55 posted on 04/24/2019 9:51:29 AM PDT by Svartalfiar
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